Zain confirms partnership talks with Vodafone

Zain Group says it is close to agreeing a partnership with Vodafone, which reportedly involves lowering roaming rates and sharing the cost of buying mobile handsets.

The Kuwait-headquartered firm confirmed it is in negotiations with Vodafone, although did not specify the exact nature of the deal.

"Zain Group is at an advanced stage in negotiations towards reaching a strategic partnership agreement with Vodafone. We will provide more details on our partnership with Vodafone in early Autumn," a spokeswoman told The National.

“Vodafone has more than 40 partnerships of this nature worldwide whereby customers benefit from their global scale and the in-country operator’s local expertise. This is a non-equity deal."

The proposed partnership would allow the UK-headquartered Vodafone to offer cheaper calling rates to its customers when they travel the Middle Eastern countries in which Zain operates, Bloomberg News reported.

Such an arrangement would presumably give Zain customers preferential roaming rates in the markets where Vodafone has a network, although neither party would confirm this.

Vodafone's buying power would allow Zain to bring the latest smartphones to the Middle East earlier, and for more competitive prices than its rivals, analysts said.

Vodafone already has "partner market agreements" with Zain in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to information on its website.

Such agreements do not involve Vodafone taking an equity stake, but typically extend to roaming and marketing activities with overseas operators.